Improved safety-guard for railway-cars



T. GILLEN.

, Car-Track Clearer.

No. 39,011. Patented June 23, 1863.

3 e C) Q 6 o 9 a q Am I Wife 5 WWW MPEIERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHR. wAsHmmuN D c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS GILLEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, THOMAS M. COLEMAN, AND WILLIAM WILSON, JR, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVED SAFETY-GUARD FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,01], dated June 23, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS GILLEN, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved Safety-Guard for Railway-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists of a device, fully described hereinafter, to be applied to railwaycars for removing obstructions from the rails, and effectually preventing the constantly-occurring accidents to passengers stepping irom the platform, and pedestrians who may stumble on the track in front of the car.

In order to enable others to apply my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Ln reference to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figures l and 2 represent side views of part of a city railway-car, with my improved safetyguard, and Fig. 3 an end view of Figs. 1 and 2.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A represents part of the frame and the platform of an ordinary car for city railways, B being one of the axles carrying the usual flanged wheels, D, and turning in the usual hangers, a c. To a hanger, E, secured to the under side of the frame A, and in front of each flanged wheel, is hung an arm, F, and to the outer end of each arm is secured a shield, G, of sheet-iron or other suitable material, and of the form or approximating to the form represented in' the drawings. A rod, 6, secured to the under side of the frame A, passes freely through each arm F, between which and the said frame intervenes a spiral spring, H, surrounding the rod, the end of which is turnished below the arm with a suitable nut or nuts, 0. The spring and nuts are so adjusted that the lower edge of the shield shall be close to the rail :20, but not in actual contact therewith, the form and situation of the shield being such that it shall overlap the outside of the wheel, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2. It will be observed that the arm F, with its shield G, forms an angular lever depressed by the spring H, and maintained at a proper altitude by the nuts 6. In order to elevate this angular lever and overcome the rigidity of the spring most easily, the power must be applied at the lowest corner, 3 hence, if this corner strikes against a broken rail or the end of a rail unduly elevated, when the car is moving in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, the lever, with its shields, will readily rise from the obstacle. Should the power to raise the angular lever be applied to the same at the point t, Fig. 2, a much greater elfort would be required to overcome the rigidity of the spring; hence the greater thebulk of the object on the rails the more unyielding will be the lever, and the more certain will the shield be to remove the object from the rail. The spring may be so regulated as regards elasticity that the lever will readily yield when brought in contact with an uneven or broken rail, and yet be of sufficient rigidity to insure the removal by the shield of any bulky object which may have accidentally fallen across the track. it will be seen that the shield G effectually prevents the limbs of passengers who may stumble in stepping from the platform from being brought into a position to be crushed by the wheel, while the front of the shi ld serves to remove from the rail any pedestrians who may have accidentally stumbled on the same in front of the car.

While my improvement prevents the constantly-occurring accidents from railway-cars, it possesses the further advantage ofremoving from the rails accumulations ofsnow, ice, mud, and other obstructions.

Without confining myself to the specific mode described of depressing the lever by a spiral spring, or of sustaining the lever and shield at their proper altitude, I claim as my invention and desire to secure by'Lctters Patent The arm F and shield G, constructed and arranged on the car in-respect to the wheel, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS GILLEN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. Fos'rER, J OHN WHITE. 

